Port St. Lucie Paintball Park Under Scrutiny

December 22, 2009|By Alexi Howk Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers

More than 600 teenagers and young adults frequent the Invincibles Paintball park each month.

But the park, which opened in August and operates on 25 acres of city-owned land near Crosstown Parkway and Interstate 95, is in jeopardy of being shut down, City Manager Don Cooper said in a memo to the City Council.

The park's owner, Vincent Cloe, built improper structures without permits and inspections, encroached on non-leased city property and failed to file a complete site plan with the city, among other issues, Cooper said.

Cloe said most of the issues the city is raising have been a misunderstanding and have been addressed.

"I would recommend to the City Council that you should advise Mr. Cloe that his concession is in jeopardy and may be closed down for a lack of performance under the other terms and conditions of the lease," Cooper wrote.

City officials said Cloe built wooden fences and other structures paintball participants hide behind during games on neighboring property; cleared land that also wasn't included in the lease; and illegally hooked up to city water, Cloe said.

Cloe said he told officials he had obtained a permit from the South Florida Water Management District to build a well. He was not using city water, he said. He also said he built temporary structures on property he thought was included in the lease, according to an original survey he had on the property.

He also said he hasn't paid $1,700 in fees to file his site plan because he was hit with a surprise $21,830 property tax bill a few weeks ago. That bill has since been brought down to zero unbeknownst to Cloe after Cooper notified St. Lucie County Property Appraiser Jeff Furst. Cooper told council Furst classified the property as a concession and therefore there would be no property taxes.

Assistant City Manager Jerry Bentrott said businesses are prohibited from operating without site plan approval but that the city is trying to work with Cloe.

Cloe said the city knowingly allowed him to operate without a site plan and said council members showed up to a ribbon-cutting celebrating the park's opening.

Asked how Cloe was able to operate the business without site-plan approval Bentrott said, "He got ahead of the paperwork."

Cloe said he cleared land he thought was included in his lease for a future BMX-type bike park.